With behavioral health records, access rights go first to the executor of the estate. If there is no executor, the patient's spouse has the exclusive right of access. If there is no spouse or executor, a responsible member of the patient's family comes next, Schmidt explains. On your signed patient access request form, you can include in the “Send my records to whom you would like to collect your records” section.
The person collecting your records may require a valid driver's license or state-issued identification. Usually, only immediate family members or the executor of the estate have access to the deceased's medical records. Medical records do not belong to the estate, so the personal representative of the deceased person cannot approve or deny a request for records. However, under the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the legal representative of a deceased person has the right to request those records.
If the legal representative is no longer available to complete the request, you may need to ask the court to approve access to medical records. In addition, if the patient dies without appointing a personal representative, state law determines who holds the default right. In general, States grant rights to an adult member of the immediate family member. Some state laws require individuals to submit legal proof of execution to healthcare organizations to access records and a copy of the patient's death certificate, while other states follow a hierarchy of who becomes, by default, the personal representative of a deceased patient if the patient dies without appointing a personal representative.
When someone dies and leaves a will, the document usually designates a personal representative or executor for the estate. Although HIPAA federalized this requirement, the act of authenticating applicants for protected health information was taking place in many facilities long before HIPAA was approved. But when a patient dies without doing either, HIPAA violates state law to determine the hierarchy of rights to that person's estate and health records. Many centers simply ask patients if they have an executor of their estate or if they have been assigned a lasting power of attorney, but they don't collect advance instruction documents, Herrin says.
This is clear when a patient has signed a HIPAA authorization or appointed an executor for their estate. The appointment of an estate representative is a cumbersome and time-consuming task that requires an attorney. If the patient has a legal guardian or representative, the legal guardian must provide proof of authority to complete the patient access request form or the authorization to release information on behalf of the patient form. For the specific task of obtaining the medical records of a deceased family member, look for an information request letter generator.
The first step is to ask to speak with the director of the medical records department and, if that fails, you must inform the hospital that you intend to report them to the New York State Department of Health for denying you access to the records to which you are legitimately entitled. The new law gives all distributors the same ability to obtain the decedent's medical records and records can be obtained within a day or two after the family member's death.
Leave Message